[3.5] Bane scimitar vs. Malarites for 20th level character - redesign help needed

[ericp65]

Assuming an item price less than or equal to 76k gp, how would you redesign the following scimitar to be a 20th level character's go-to weapon for fighting servants of the deity Malar (FR)? It needs to be toned down a bit to be of an appropriate power level, I think, but mostly to fit WBL guidelines.

Currently: scimitar +6, fiercebane (Malarites), holy, keen, speed, thundering, wounding. HP 65, hardness 22.

As long as it remains a scimitar that's the bane of followers of Malar--evil combat leaders, arcane/divine casters, and werecreatures who worship the deity--suggestions from all official WOTC D&D 3.5 materials (excluding dragon magazine, but including any WOTC online enhancements) are welcome for consideration.

If possible, I'd also very much appreciate suggestions for any additions to the weapon, to be similarly appropriate to the same wielder by 26th level (the item's value can be up to 250k gpv). This part has no urgency, just whenever anyone has anything to offer :smallsmile:

TIA for any help!

[ericp65]

It's OK, I've gimped the weapon to include with a competition submission. If no one has anything for this, I'll slap some non-magical properties onto it, if I can do so without going over 1/10 of a 26th level character's WBL.

[T.G. Oskar]

So, let's see: a +6 holy keen speed thundering wounding scimitar of fiercebane (Malarites) would count as...the equivalent of a +16 weapon. That's a minimum cost of 5.12m gp for a weapon that deals +2d6 holy, +2d6 against Malarites, +1 Con damage, +1d10 and +1d8 sonic on a critical hit, which is mostly raw damage.

A weapon costing <= 76k gp would range between a +6 and a +7 weapon, but with an actual enhancement cost below +6. Holy is a very useful enhancement, so that's a +2 weapon that can remain. Bane (Malarites) is a +1 cost, and a weapon has to be a +1 weapon, so that's a +4.

Fiercebane isn't as useful as you might think, as while you have a decent chance of pulling a critical hit, that's at best +5-+6 points of damage on three out of every 10 attacks. Collision (MIC 31), for a +1 cost, adds 5 points of damage with every attack, against every creature, and ready to be multiplied on a critical hit. Against Malarite arcane casters, Magebane adds yet another useful boost to damage, but it won't affect divine casters or shapechangers, so even if it's cheap, it's no big boost (as it'd be Holy: almost all Malarites are evil, so you can expect that to work).

Thus, a pretty bare-bones suggestion would be a +1 holy collision scimitar of bane (Malarites), which would be a +5 weapon. That amounts for a +1 enhancement bonus, or a +1 equivalent enhancement, or a set of improvements costing 26,000 gp. If you can rack up the critical hits, Heavenly Burst is impressively good (3d6 damage plus a chance of blind, though the Fort save is laughably low); if you have good Charisma, you can add Stunning Surge and use it against the most dangerous enemies you face (and hopefully aren't immune to stun). If you have a way to mitigate damage you take, Vicious might be a decent choice (you deal 2d6 damage with each blow, but you take 1d6; if you have Steely Resolve from the Crusader class, you can turn that extra damage into a +1 to attack and damage rolls; otherwise, Martial Spirit mitigates damage taken). Even if it's a +1, if you can find a way to gain Greater Magic Weapon cast upon you, that means you get a +5 weapon for at least one day's worth of activities, which should be enough to cover your needs.

Note: this is considering whether bane (Malarites) actually works. Otherwise, go for the most common races that follow Malar: humanoids (human, mostly) or giants, which are the most common forms of lycanthropes, and possibly animals and magical beasts.

As for the Epic version of it...you now have 250k worth of GP to play with and that means you can build a +10 weapon and save around 50k for other enhancements. Aside from the enhancements mentioned (and Keen, which should be easily added), you can add +2 enhancements: Enervating imposes negative levels on critical hits (which you have a pretty large chance of landing, if adding Keen), Vampiric can be added alongside Vicious to mitigate damage (you deal 3d6 damage, you take 1d6 but recover an amount equal to one of the damage dice you deal from Vampiric). If you add Enervating, then you can also add Souldrinking and get a minor (and morale-based) bonus to damage. The remaining money can be spent adding Prismatic Burst (prismatic spray on a critical hit) and Slow Burst (slow for 3 rounds on a failed Will save), which are pretty brutal debuffs...and you'd still save 15k on costs.

A fun weapon would be a +3 keen vicious collision enervating vampiric scimitar of prismatic burst and slow burst, and spend the remaining money on a greater crystal of energy assault of each energy type. If spending money on that last +1 enhancement (IIRC, the weapon would count as a +9 weapon), make it Electricity Assault for the dazzle effect or Acid for the penalty to AC. With a 30% chance of critical hits, you can deal a pretty good amount of damage and reduce levels extremely fast, not to mention imposing two effects that grow progressively worse with each critical hit. Again, a Greater Magic Weapon effect cast on the weapon should make it useful enough (even if it won't break Epic DR).

[ericp65]

Oh, now that's beautiful stuff! :smallbiggrin:

The wielder is a dedicated warrior of Mielikki, hence the focus on bane vs. Malarites. Interesting that giants were mentioned, as I've never come across anything about giants associated with either Malar or with werecreatures (and the prospect frightens me!). She was originally written as a Ranger, but I've found value in (re)building her around the Swift Hunter class, with a few other classes/PrCs added in. I'm submitting a modified 20-level progression for the same character in Zinc Saucier XVII without Swift Hunter levels. The character is a female Sylvan Elf from Cormanthor who's become adventurous enough to explore the lands beyond her home region, and she's zealous in her pursuit of any and all Malarites she can find. Her combat style is TWF, but she could easily wield her special scimitar with both hands...or have it remade into a falchion or a great scimitar. Haven't decided on that yet.

Thanks for the wonderful advice!

[T.G. Oskar]

It's actually part of the lycanthrope template. The SRD even has an example of a Hill Giant Dire Wereboar (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/lycanthrope.htm#hillGiantDireWereboar), in case you wanted to know just how frightening it might be. Technically, most giant lycanthropes would have dire animal forms, but that's not necessarily the case. It'd be fun to see a Frost Giant Werebear, assuming the form of a Polar Bear (and being LG, when the race is almost always CE).

There's something else I want to say, but I believe a PM is in order.

[ericp65]

T.G. Oskar, thanks very much! I'm trying to stay on my toes as best I can with this, given the surrounding circumstances.

[ericp65]

This has nothing to do with my ZS XVII submission, but pertains only to the item for my 26th level PnP character...still, it might be safest to hold off until the winner is announced, as the details in this thread might make things too obvious.

I've examined and compared scimitar, great scimitar (from Sandstorm), falchion, and Elven courtblade (from Races of the Wild). The last of these looks mighty tempting for a redesign/reforging, even if it doesn't fit the character's preferred TWF style. Maybe I should just say she does TWF most of the time, but whips out the big blade when fighting her most hated enemies. She could us a great scimitar paired with her other weapon of choice for TWF by using Exotic Weapon Proficiency (gr. scim.). I won't specify that "other weapon" until after the ZS XVII judging and reveal, just to be on the safe side.

Any thoughts on this? I already like the idea of designing a nice, "all-purpose" great scimitar for her.

Since this is detached from the ZS competition, all published d20 3.5 material is welcome for consideration.